Even before Representative Mike Lawler, Republican of New York, stepped onstage in the auditorium at the suburban Mahopac High School on Sunday evening, it was clear that some of his constituents were primed for a confrontation with the congressman who is among his party’s most politically vulnerable incumbents.
A small group of protesters clustered outside near the entrance, clutching signs, while inside, some attendees were already bristling at the moderator’s efforts to lay out ground rules to preserve civility.
“Give everyone a chance to talk,” Kevin Byrne, the Putnam County executive and event moderator, said.
“As long as he doesn’t lie!” a woman shouted in response.
What unfolded over the next two hours was an at-times combative session marked by frequent interruptions; competing bursts of applause and jeers; and repeated attempts by Mr. Lawler to justify or distance himself from President Trump’s handling of the war in Iran. It captured how the conflict has created a worst-case political scenario for members of his party in the run-up to November’s midterm elections, in which the party is fighting to maintain its minuscule majority.
Having largely sat on the sidelines as Mr. Trump began the war without congressional authorization, then abruptly announced a cease-fire and now is imposing a blockade — sending gas prices soaring amid persistent economic anxiety — Republican members of Congress like Mr. Lawler are facing mounting questions from voters, who do not appear satisfied by the answers they are getting.
“With the war in Iran, you have seen a short-term volatility in the oil markets,” Mr. Lawler said, pivoting to the conflict after an introduction focused on what he had done to address cost of living issues, immigration enforcement, and foreign policy challenges.
“Do something,” some attendees shouted. “It is Trump’s fault,” others jeered.
“As a result, gas prices have risen. And what we are —” Mr. Lawler continued, before his voice was drowned out.
“Folks, relax,” he said flatly. “Calm yourself, all right?”
Minutes later, with heckling erupting again, Mr. Lawler, who is seeking a third term, rebuked his constituents, saying they were acting childish.
“We’re in a high school auditorium, and high school students act a lot better than any of you are acting right now,” the congressman said. “Actually act like an adult and stop.”
Some applauded. Others grumbled.
At a time when Republican leaders in Congress have ceded much of their power to Mr. Trump and refrained from exercising oversight of the Iran war in particular, Mr. Lawler was among the only G.O.P. members of Congress who dared to hold an in-person session with constituents while he was in his district during a two-week spring recess. His seat in the Hudson Valley, an area that Kamala Harris narrowly won in 2024, is among those that will determine control of the House.
During a question-and-answer segment, a constituent chided Mr. Lawler for opposing efforts in the House to bar Mr. Trump from continuing offensive military action in Iran until he wins authorization from Congress.
Mr. Lawler said it would have been “idiotic” for Congress to attempt to intervene, contending that that would only have strengthened Iran’s remaining leaders.
“The fact is that the president is well within his authority to conduct the strikes that have been conducted,” he said. “At this moment, as they are in negotiations, as they’re working through this, for Congress to take a definitive step to order the withdrawal actually undermines the United States.”
That drew a lengthy rebuke from Marion Walsh of nearby Cortlandt, N.Y., who said that Mr. Lawler had “abdicated your responsibility” to his constituents in a district that did not support Mr. Trump, and pleaded with him to “please do your job.”
“You have a responsibility to us,” Ms. Walsh said. “And you have, in fact, endangered our young people, our service members and our country and killed civilians by not standing up to Trump on this unjustified war.”
While some attendees defended the administration’s approach, even supporters were clearly eager to have the war wrapped up.
“You’re doing a great job,” one man said as he praised Mr. Lawler for backing the president’s tax cut law enacted last summer. “I’m telling you, huge savings,” he added, as heads nodded around the room.
Then he suggested that Mr. Lawler should intervene to help wind down the operation in Iran.
“How can we get you more involved in the negotiations on the conflict overseas, because you’re a common-sense guy and I think you can make a difference,” said the man, who later declined to share his name.
Mr. Lawler sought to distance himself from some of Mr. Trump’s bellicose language, including his threat to wipe out Iranian civilization.
“I don’t support the rhetoric or words that were used in that Truth Social statement,” he told the crowd.
But he made it clear that any disagreement with the president on that issue was merely tonal. The Iranian government must be “eliminated,” Mr. Lawler said, and Iran must be stopped in its “pursuit of nuclear weapons. That is what the president is trying to stop, and all of us in this room should actually support that initiative.”
Mr. Lawler sought at several points to broaden the conversation, highlighting his work on tax policy and efforts to raise the state and local deduction cap, which drew bipartisan applause. But that did little to quell the tension.
Throughout the evening, interruptions forced repeated pauses. At one point, Mr. Lawler threatened to end the event altogether, calling the crowd’s behavior unacceptable. That only fueled the anger.
“People are allowed to be enraged and frustrated,” said Katie Staples, 38, a Democrat who spoke up during the meeting. “He is using invalidating and condescending language that makes us feel like our viewpoints are actually not being heard. That’s where a lot of that frustration and that rage is coming from.”
Robert Jimison covers Congress for The Times, with a focus on defense issues and foreign policy.
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